The 8th annual meeting of the JCBRN Defence COE Steering Committee (SC) was held in Vyškov, Czech Republic on 20 and 21 April 2010, with participation from CZE, GBR, GRC, HUN, ITA, POL, ROU, SVK, SVN and representatives from SHAPE.
The JCBRN Defence COE Director Zdenek Cizek commenced the meeting with his opening address, where he specifically announced the final step of the joining process for Hungary and Poland - the Note of Joining for the Functional Relationship MOU was signed by ACT Chief of Staff in Norfolk (USA) on 16 April 2010.
The Czech SC member COL Karel Huleja announced the willingness of the Czech Republic to handover M&S Capabilities to the JCBRN Defence COE on 28 May 2010 during a Handover Ceremony. M&S Capabilities is a bilateral project between the US and Czech Republic. This project was initiated and developed with the aim of supporting the Centre’s mission and adding value to the COE CBRN capabilities.
During the previous SC meeting in September 2009, it was indentified that there was a requirement to establish a new position, which would improve the COE internal work processes. The SC, together with COE staff, proposed and agreed to analyze the current PE structure and what affect the new position (Chief of Staff) would have on COE daily routine. This evaluation process successfully identified the requirement, which was recognized by all SNs (January 2010) and concluded with the SC approving the establishment of the Chief of Staff Position.
The main focus of the meeting was to discuss and approve the JCBRN Defence COE Program of Work for 2011. There were many areas of interest, some of which are on-going issues. However, there were new areas for discussion and the SC commented and approved on how the JCBRN Defence COE should move forward in the current CBRN environment to support the transformation process of ACT.
The next SC meeting will be held in Vyskov on 20 and 21 September 2010.
Author: Ilona Bain
Photo: Mrs. Olga Karaffová
